Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Los Alamitos Futurity analysis
Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Los Alamitos Futurity analysis
Jay PrivmanDec 20, 2020
Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Los Alamitos Futurity analysis
Outadore and Cowan will attempt to hit pay dirt Friday night when both Breeders' Cup runners switch to the main track for the $200,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park.
Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Remsen Stakes analysis
Keepmeinmind had finished second in the Kentucky Jockey Club and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to Essential Quality, so he got some class relief here against rivals that were a significant cut below the likely divisional champ. He won as best, earning his first career victory, but the anemic Beyer figure indicates he ran down to the level of his competition, and that anything behind him is suspect going forward.
The 23nd year of Churchill Downs offering parimutuel futures on the Kentucky Derby starts Thursday, when the first of five pools toward the 2021 Derby opens at noon Eastern.
Jackie's Warrior continued to reign as the best of the division at this point with another powerful performance, giving him a perfect record of 4 for 4, all while continuing to increase his Beyer Speed Figures each time. This was a career top, five points superior to what he earned in his prior start, the Hopeful. The number is legit.
Essential Quality was an eye-catching winner of his debut on the Kentucky Derby undercard Sept. 5, overcoming significant traffic trouble to win going six furlongs. The fig was moderate (69), and even though he has a route pedigree, it seemed to be asking a lot for him to go straight into a two-turn, Grade 1 stakes race and perform well. But perform well he did, earning a Beyer fig that places him among the top members of the class at the moment.
This did not appear to be a vintage edition of this race. The top Beyer Speed Figure entering the race was a 75, earned by Touchdown Brown in a California-bred sprint stakes, and only one other horse, Spielberg, had earned a fig in the 70s.
In a clever bit of symmetry and marketing, the Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby began the same day that the Road to the 2020 Derby ended, with the Iroquois being held four races prior to this year’s postponed Derby.
Authentic gamely turned back favored Tiz the Law in the Churchill Downs stretch, giving B. Wayne Hughes his first Derby winner and giving Into Mischief his first classic winner, answering questions about the sire's ability to produce stamina.